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Cricket Board Ousts Two IPL Teams

Former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi, center, whispers to Preity Zinta, left, at a press conference in Mumbai in January that also featured Shilpa Shetty, right. The teams of both actresses, the Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, respectively, have been ousted from the league.

The board in charge of the popular Indian Premier League disqualified two teams, the Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals, from what may be the world’s richest cricket league on Sunday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India cited problems in the ownership of the two teams. The structure of the ownership of both teams and even the names of the companies that controlled them seemed to change after they were auctioned off, the board said.

The IPL is a short version of cricket which has been very popular with television audiences, stadium spectators and advertisers alike.

“In both these cases, the initial bid was made by one company, but the agreement with the IPL was entered into with another company,” BCCI president Shashank Manohar said according to a Hindustan Times report.

Kings XI Punjab, in an email response told India Real Time they were “surprised and saddened by the recent action.” They reiterated that the company “has not violated any agreement.”

“KXIP strongly believes that this decision is unfair and not in the collaborative spirit which the IPL has operated in. Kings XI hopes that the BCCI will engage in a productive dialogue to resolve all misunderstandings,” the team said in the email.

The Rajasthan Royals said they were “shocked and surprised” by the termination notice. “We have always conducted ourselves transparently in accordance with our contract terms and only desire fair and unbiased treatment from the BCCI,” the group that owns the Rajasthan Royals said in a statement.

The team said they would seek legal counsel if needed to get the franchise back.

“If the only way to achieve this is through legal recourse, then that is a shame for those that seek to invest in sport in India,” the statement said.

Other franchise owners wondered out loud what this heavy-handed move means for the league.

“I wonder if IPL franchisees are serious stakeholders whose investments and participation are respected or are they slaves who only come and play?” tweeted Vijay Mallya, Bangalore Royal Challengers’ owner and liquor baron.

BCCI officials were unavailable for comment Monday.

The ouster of the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab is the latest in a string of controversies for the League.

In April, Lalit Modi, the founder and then chairman and commissioner of the League, questioned who was behind the winning bid for the new Kochi franchise and revealed the names of the bidders. Among the owners of the winning group was Sunanda Pushkar – now the wife of former minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor. Following the controversy, Mr. Tharoor had to step down from his position as minister.

But, Mr. Modi’s move backfired as he was later suspended as IPL chief, bringing his future at the helm of the league into doubt. He is now facing a probe by government authorities and the BCCI over potential financial irregularities.

Hours after the decision to oust the two teams this Sunday, Mr. Modi tweeted, “The game is bigger than the organization. The owners should get together and run the League on there own. IPL should not be destroyed.”

A couple of the affected owners that helped provide some of the biggest Bollywood bling to the league chimed in as well.

“Honestly (I’m) too shocked to react… because it’s more than just a team for us,” said Shilpa Shetty, co-owner of the Royals using her twitter handle TheShilpaShetty.

Fellow actor, Preity Zinta, a co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab team voiced the same sentiment. “Still absorbing the news,” she tweeted. “After working so hard in the IPL and putting my everything (into) building this team, (this) is not what I expected!”